England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
